According to the American Planning Association, a “floating zone” is a zoning district that “delineates conditions” rather than the more traditional use classifications that are typically found on zoning maps. While a floating zone is contained in a zoning code, it is only added to the zoning map after a project seeking that designation is …

In an effort to generate revenue without raising taxes, many municipalities on Long Island, and elsewhere in New York State, are turning to the use of various forms of land development fees to meet their fiscal challenges. In many cases, these fees can be legally and morally justified, such as when they offset the actual …

Asharoken, N.Y. January 10, 2017 — Swayed by public opinion, the Incorporated Village of Asharoken (“Asharoken”) opted out of a federal beach nourishment plan implemented by the Army Corp of Engineers (“ACOE”) in order to prevent the general public from accessing the Villages’ private beaches.

In a determination dated June 30, 2016, the Honorable Jerome C. Murphy, Supreme Court, Nassau County, annulled and vacated the Village of Bayville’s local laws amending its zoning code based on the Village’s failure to comply with the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”). See Save Bayville Now, Inc., v Incorporated Village …

This blog post discusses the hotly contested litigation between the Village of Pomona (the “Village”) and the Congregation Rabbinical College of Tartikov (the “Congregation”) about a proposed rabbinical college. The case, Congregation Rabbinical College Of Tartikov, Inc., v. Village of Pomona, pending in the federal district court for the Southern District of New York, …

In recent months, the Village of Sag Harbor and the Village of Patchogue enacted moratoriums aimed at halting large-scale residential development, and in Patchogue’s case, including multi-family residential development. Both Villages learned that enacting moratoriums is not only subject to referral to the Suffolk County Planning Commission (“SCPC”) pursuant to General Municipal Law § 239-m …